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How do you know which live-aboard to go with? That typically is controlled by the part of the world you want to travel to. There are only so many live-aboards in any one area, but knowing which one is best for the price and what you get can be difficult. The best place to start is researching online. You can find out which vessels are in the area you want to go, what they offer, and how much they cost. Once you decide on one or two, you can then seek information from your local dive shop, dive club, or dive travel agent about which trip is best for you. Talking with people who have been on the vessel or dived with the same company can offer valuable information to help you make your decision.

Live-aboards can be a spectacular way to dive and fully immerse yourself in the local diving area. If you love to dive and like to travel, live-aboards are the way to go!

So how much do live-aboard dive trips cost anyway? Well, that can vary a good bit from location to location. The higher-end live-aboards can range in price from $2,000 to $3,500 or more per person for a seven to ten day trip. The less expensive trips can range anywhere from $500 to $1,500 per person for three to seven day trips. What’s included on the trips vary, but typically, all diving, food, accommodations, air, weights, and tanks, and some beverages are included. Make sure you research what’s included in the cost of your trip, so that there is no misunderstanding when you get on board.

Live-aboards are quickly becoming one of the most popular ways of experiencing diving in locations around the world. Live-aboards are exactly that, you live on board the vessel, eating, sleeping, diving, and traveling from dive site to dive site. Live-aboard dive boats give you a wider range of destinations than day trips. Live-aboard vessels typically range from 60 to 120 feet in length or larger and offer the ability to cover a wide and extended range as opposed to a day charter, which returns to dock each night.

Trip lengths of live-aboards typically range from three to ten or more days. Typically, most vessels depart the dock in the afternoon or evening, as the distances involved usually require overnight travel. When you awake in the morning, you’re on location and diving commences. At the end of a trip, vessels generally return to the dock in the evening or early in the morning, depending on the preference of the company.

Most live-aboards are designed to cater to all of your diving needs, as well as provide you a high level of comfort while on board. Live-aboards cater to their customers by providing excellent, gourmet meals and snacks; clean, neat, and comfortable sleeping quarters; TVs and DVD/VCR players for an evening of movie watching; plenty of hot water showers; photo/video stations for equipment and editing; tanks, air/nitrox, and weights for every dive; and plenty of crew members to cater to your every need. Live-aboard diving trips are about diving and there is no shortage of that. Typically, depending on where you’re diving, you can get up to eight dives per dive if you’re up to it. The average is around four dives per day. Live-aboard dive trips are also about relaxing. Many vessels have excellent lounging decks for sunning, reading, or catching up on your sleep. No matter whether you want to make only two dives per day, eat heartily, and relax, or make six or more dives a day and pass out in your cabin from exhaustion and get up the next day and do it again, live-aboards can accommodate.

Live-aboard dive trips are available around the world. From the South Pacific Islands to the Caribbean and from the Galapagos Islands to Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef, live-aboards run the gamut of the great diving locations around the world. Live-aboard captains and crew are intimately knowledgeable about the area and know the great dive spots, so each diving opportunity is guaranteed to be spectacular. You don’t spend time searching and hunting for a dive spot or waste time trying to find out where you need to go for a good dive. Live-aboard operations know where to go, when the best time is to dive a site, and what you’ll see while underwater. The only thing you need to worry about is suiting up for the next dive and making sure your camera is ready to go.

Live-aboards are not like cruise ships, going into port everyday or night for sightseeing. As mentioned, live-aboards are about diving and relaxing on the boat. Some live-aboards do make a stop on an island on the way back or in the middle of the trip, but typically, you’re at sea the whole time until the trip is over. If you’re interested in visiting the islands or area where your live-aboard is taking place, schedule time either before or after to take in the sights and enjoy the local culture.

There is another type of live-aboard dive trip; the ones that take place on smaller vessels that mostly just concentrate on diving and not on the food, accommodations, and comfort levels. These trips are lower priced trips and don’t offer private cabins, gourmet food, or the little extras that make a boat a world-class diving vessel. For some divers, this type of live-aboard is all they need: just a place to lay their head at night, a competent crew, and lots of diving. Don’t expect any luxuries on this type of live-aboard trip, but do expect excellent diving and lots of it.